The design and application of cracker dough kneading machine for increasing productivity and quality of mackerel crackers in Tambakasri village Malang

Mackerel cracker is a type of fish crackers with the basic ingredients of mackerel fish. The potential of mackerel fish production reaches 5000 tons/year. Moreover, it is supported by the Indonesian government's policies which currently make the marine sector a superior program, so that business licensing of marine and fishery products can be faster. Mackerel cracker processing industry in Tambakasri village, Malang, Indonesia is still facing problems in its production process. This research was conducted in a small and medium-sized enterprise (SMEs) Yuan Mina Kartika which produces various fish crackers. The constraints in the SMEs include 1) the amount of production that has not been optimal, because of the inadequate production tools; 2) the process of refining fish that still uses traditional tools; 3) the process of kneading is done manually so that it takes a long time and produces uneven mackerel fish mixture. The purpose of this study is to develop and to test a cracker dough kneading machine to increase the productivity and quality of cracker products. Dough kneading machine uses a kneading system that is driven using an electric motor and transmission. Engine capacity is designed for 100 kg/hour using 1.5 HP with some outputs of dough tube. The test results showed a significant increase in time efficiency in the kneading process as well as the quality of the cracker dough which was better than the manual method.